Since the passage of the Twentieth Amendment, Inauguration Day has been held on January 20th (originally occuring on March 4th) to swear in the new President of the United States during the start of each term. The ceremony, which under normal circumstances takes place once ever four years, is often a large event with crowds of people from all over the country coming to the Nation's capital to see the new President-elect be sworn in. Regardless of what date it's held, the weather in Washington, D.C. can be quite variable with some drastic weather differences. With over two hundred years of inaugurations, let's look back at the meteorological history of Inauguration Day.
Outdoor ceremonies for Presidential inaugurations date back to 1817 when James Monroe was sworn in for his first term in office. Despite over two centuries of events, official weather records only go back to 1871. The normal high on Inauguration Day in Washington D.C. sits at 45°F, with temperatures around 12 PM ET (the typical time the president is sworn) are typically near 36°F. Precipitation averages at almost a 0.10" with 0.2" of snowfall. Despite this climatic average, the president appears to bear some weather extremes.
Despite it being wintertime, snow has been hard to come by on Inauguration Day . Only a handful of years experienced light snow actually falling the day of the ceremony with little issues noted. The only inauguration where snow caused some serious issues was during President John F. Kennedy’s in 1961 when 8" of snow fell the night prior. This lead to a hasty overnight cleanup, with the Army Corps of Engineers using flamethrowers to clear the snow. This was then followed by a windy day with bitter temperatures struggling to hit a 25°F high.
Another significant winter storm dropped nearly 10" on President William H. Taft’s inauguration, though this occurred on March 4th, 1909. Strong winds led to heavy blowing and drifting of the snow, bringing the city to a standstill. To try more of Taft’s patience, the snow only lasted until mid-day with a noon-time temperature of near 32°F, stopping not too long after he was sworn in!
Although a sunny day, President Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration in 1985 marked the coldest January date an innauguation has been held when the 12 PM temperature sat at only 7°F with highs barely hitting 17°F. Afternoon wind chills also ranged between -20°F and -10°F. All this led to the ceremony being forced indoors and the Inaugural parade was cancelled. The coldest March day goes to President Ulysses Grant for his second inauguration in 1873 with a record low at just 4°F, only to rise near 16°F by 12 PM. Wind chills were also well below 0°F thanks to wind gusts up to 40 mph! One could only imagine how officials felt standing on the steps of the Capitol that day, some of which apparently not even wearing overcoats!
The most dramatic result of weather impacting an inauguration was President William Henry Harrison in 1841 who gave the longest speech, lasting an hour and 40 minutes. This took place on cloudy, cool, and breezy day. With the combination of not dressing properly, it is believed he developed a cold during the following weeks that then spiraled into pneumonia, causing his death exactly a month after being sworn in.
President William Henry Harrison's inauguration in 1841 wasn't the only one that could be linked to an untimely death. Only a dozen years later in 1853, a heavy snowstorm developed, breaking only momentarily the morning of Franklin Pierce's inauguration before returning partway through his inaugural address. Outgoing First Lady Abigail Fillmore, wife of incumbent President Millard Fillmore, caught a cold as a result of her time outside at the ceremonies. She would go on to develop pneumonia and died within a month.
Getting away from winter records, inauguration’s have also been very wet and even unseasonably warm. Although the warmest day for any January 20th is set at 70°F in 1951, the inaugural record goes to President Ronald Reagan’s first ceremony where it hit 55°F by 12 PM in 1981 (President Gerald Ford technically beats him in 1974 at 89°F but this was an exception as the inauguration occurred on August 9th). President Wilson's inauguration on March 4th also was one of the warmest, coming in at 55°F.
For President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1937, he experienced a washout of a day, coming in with a record 1.77" of rain on his ceremony. It actually began as a wintry mix during the morning, followed by a cold rain at 33°F around noontime before rising to near 40°F late. Despite that, the president still insisted on continuing with the inaugural parade! Benjamin Harrison in 1889 also had quite the damper on his ceremony, with a downpour occurring during his swearing-in. This resulted in the president-elect having to have an umbrella held over his head (see image above).
Like we mentioned, official weather records only date back to 1871, though some unofficial records can give us a glimpse into the conditions at earlier inaugurations. The first outdoor ceremony held in 1817 for James Monroe was reported to be warm and sunny with estimate 12 PM temperatures around 50°F. Thomas Jefferson was known to take weather observations, and he did for his second inauguration in 1805. Per Jefferson, he reported fair conditions. George Washington, who was sworn in to his first term April 30th, 1789 in New York City, also was said to have reported a clear and cool day for the first presidential inauguration in the nation's history.
Well, it's going to be a cold one. In fact, cold enough to force ceremonies to be held inside. This is the first time since Reagan's second inauguration in 1985 where ceremonies were held inside due to the cold. As we mentioned earlier, temperatures during that day fell to a low of 4°F in the morning and only rose to 7°F by 12 PM. For President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, forecasted highs are not as cold, but it wont be warm by any stretch. Temperatures will bottom out in the teens, barely being able to break 20°F by 12 PM. Along with that, winds will be gusting 25 - 35 mph, leading to wind chills in the single digits!
While no snow is expected to fall on the day itself, the Nation's capital does have snow in the forecast on Sunday, picking up a few inches and leaving a nice snowy blanket across the District. With temperatures crashing Sunday night, it also means there will be lots of icy spots from slush and wet areas post-storm, so something to watch out for if you're in town for the ceremonies.
Sources: National Weather Service http://www.weather.gov/lwx/events_Inauguration, Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies http://www.inaugural.senate.gov/about/past-inaugural-ceremonies
